The Garden by Meghan Ferrari - ADVISABLE

The Garden by Meghan Ferrari, 109 pages.  Red Deer Press, 2018.  $13. 9780889955684.

Language: G (0 swears, 0‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13 9bloody deaths, torture mentioned

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ADVISABLE (hi/lo)

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

When their village is invaded by the Syrian Rebels, Elias and his little brother are captured and threatened with torture.  In the present day, Elias and his parents are in Canada, and Elias can barely hold his rage inside.  Only the kindness of a couple of classmates helps him navigate the minefields of the bullies at his new school.  A patient counselor draws out Elias’ story of escape and terror.

I am going to recommend this to a couple of my Language Arts teachers as a class read.  It feels spot on about the terror of life in Syria and life capriciousness of life in a refugee camp.  I think this author could very easily write a much longer book (another 100 pages) on the same subject – I’d love to read it if they did.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS